UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 4

Wednesday marked the continuation of group stage play in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP A:

At Livorno, Italy:

Roberto Colautti's equalizer, three minutes into second-half stoppage time lifted Maccabi Haifa to a 1-1 road draw with Livorno and allowing the visiting Green Apes to qualify for the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 32.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

AJ Auxerre spotted homestanding FK Partizan a 1-0 lead, then scored four unanswered goals (scored by four different players) to pop the Serb side 4-1.

GROUP B:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Claudiu Niculescu's double (37', 74') powered Dinamo Bucharest to a 2-1 home win over Bayer Leverkusen and a spot in the round of 32.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Goals from Ibrahim Akin (32') and Ricardinho (PK-70') powered Besiktas to a 2-1 home victory over Club Brugge.

GROUP C:

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Daniel Alves scored twice (12', 53') to power FC Sevilla (which won the UEFA Cup this past May) to a 4-0 stomping of hosts Grasshoppers. Sevilla's heading to the knockout stage while the loss eliminated the Swiss side from European competition.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

Homestanding AZ Alkmaar booked their ticket for the round of 32 by tying visiting FC Slovan Liberec 2-2. Julian Jenner tied the score for AZ in the 89th minute.

GROUP D:

At Lens, France:

Daniele Paponi's game winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time powered Parma to a 2-1 road win over Lens, eliminating the French club's hopes of advancing out of the group stage. The Italian side is heading to the round of 32.

At Pamplona, Spain:

Patxi Punal scored twice for Osasuna (29', 67') as the home side defeated Odense BK 2-1.